Thursday, January 25, 2007

This is a test paint of a Kroot warrior for Warhammer 40,000. The Kroot are an allied race for the Tau and do not have there own army codex. There is a Kroot Mercenary list that allows you to field and all Kroot army for 40K. I have been a big fan of the Kroot since the Tau army was released several years ago. In fact, I think they are more interesting alien race than the Tau. They really deserve their own codex and an expanded model line. I have a bunch of these guys...maybe I should build a Kroot Mercenary army...

Saturday, January 20, 2007

Today we have some Ring Wraith models by Games Workshop. These are for their excellent Lord of the Rings miniatures game. The first model is the Witch King.

These models are very nicely sculpted and a joy to paint. Next is a "regular" Ring Wraith.

Painting was easy. I started with a black spray paint base-coat.

Next I used a silvery color (darker rather than lighter) and picked out the armor and the weapon blades.

Next I used a metallic gold color for the weapon details.

Then I used a Black-Grey color to highlight the robes. I also put some brown around the bottom of the robes for dirt.

The horse is just a single shade of brown over a black primer base. I used the same silver color for the metal parts of the barding.

These figures were actually painted several weeks ago but I just got around to finishing the bases tonight. The can of dull coat I am using turned out to be more of a satin rather than flat, so the figures have a little sheen to them. Oh, these figures have been "dipped" as well. It is really hard to tell due to the dark nature of the paint jobs.

Wednesday, January 17, 2007

The second installment in the 8thCadian Regiment is the Regimental Standard BearerJarranKell. This is another figure that is mostly painted by Luke, but unlike the others I have done a considerable amount of rework.

The original paint scheme for the banner had the field in the same green as is used throughout the army for the base uniform color. This really helped to reinforce the look by keeping the pallet very restricted but it made for a drab banner. To me, a banner that someone is going to be waving around in battle should really pop. With this in mind I repainted the field read and added a white boarder. This is in keeping with the Imperial Guard Codex colors and I think it looks great.

Tuesday, January 16, 2007

Today's post is something a little different for me. These are some pictures of the only painted army I have ever purchased. I really wasn't looking for an army but it was rare example of being at the right place at the right time. I orginally purchased the army, sight unseen, becasue it was a good deal just for the models. I fully expected that I would need to repaint the entire collection. This turned out to be completely wrong. The army was painted by a local gamer and painter, Luke Mundy, and I was stunned at how well it was all painted.

When I picked up the army it was all dumped in a box with a bunch of extra stuff but it was clear that the quality was very good. All I did to the figures above was base them. The painting was complete.

For the Lascannon teams I painted the main guns and did the basing.

This is one of the infantry platoons. All that was needed was to complete a couple of the vox caster figures and do the basing.

The Cadian Lt above is the way I got it from Luke. I have a feeling that this is a speed painted army but the quality is as good as my careful work.

Ursarkar E. Creed looks pretty good but he does need some touch-up work. He got a little banged up in the box. I will post an after picture as soon as I finish the touch-ups.

I am very pleased with the look of the army and it is a blast to play. As soon as I finish the touch-ups on the Stormtroopers I will get some pictures posted.

Sunday, January 14, 2007

This is the first of the orcs with guns. This guy is probably a lousy shot but he has a huge gun!

The brown coat looks much better this time. I think the key to brown is less contrast and make sure the brush-strokes are smooth. If either of these is off then it looks like wood. This is not bad, unless you are painting cloth...

With a little luck I might be able to get a couple more done this week. Then again, I might find something I am more interested in painting. Who knows?

Wednesday, January 10, 2007

Last Sunday my friend Tom and I got together for a game. We decided to play Games Workshop's excellent Lord of the Rings game. Tom is just starting to play and does not have any models for the game so we decided to try the rules for some dark age skirmish. He has a very nice Danish Viking army for Warhammer Acients Battles and I have a Saxon army, so a raid on a Saxon village seemed natural.

In order to play this I needed to come up with some stats and point costs for the forces. This wasn't too difficult as Vikings and Saxons are very similar to several LoTR troops types. Here is what I came up with in case you would like to try it out.

Vikings

Characters

Hersir Points 50 F S D A W C M/F 4/4+ 4 4 2 2 4 2 1

Equipped with armor and a sword

Sheild +5Two-handed Weapon +5Throwing Spear +1Spear +1

Berzerker Points 15 F S D A W C M/F 4/- 4 5 2 1 8 - 1

Equipped with a hand weapon

Sheild +2Two-handed Axe +5

Troops

Hirdmen Points 8 F S D A W C 3/4+ 3 4 1 1 4

Equipped with armor and hand weapon

Sheild +1Throwing Spear +1Two-handed Axe +3

Bondir Points 5 F S D A W C 3/5+ 3 3 1 1 3

Equipped with hand weapon

Sheild +1Spear +1Bow +1

Note: Bondir equipped with Bow may not be equipped with a shield or a spear.

Saxons

Characters

Ealdorman Points 50 F S D A W C M/F 4/4+ 4 4 2 2 4 2 1

Equipped with armor and a sword

Sheild +5Two-handed Weapon +5Throwing Spear +1Spear +1

Troops

Huscarls Points 10 F S D A W C 4/4+ 4 4 1 1 3

Equipped with armor and hand weapon

Sheild +1Throwing Spear +1Spear +1Two-handed Axe +5

Thegns Points 6 F S D A W C 3/4+ 4 4 1 1 3

Equipped with armor and hand weapon

Sheild +1Throwing Spear +1Spear +1

Fyrd Points 5 F S D A W C 3/5+ 3 3 1 1 2

Equipped with hand weapon

Sheild +1Sling +1Spear +1Throwing Spear +1Bow +1

Note: Fyrd equipped with sling or bow may not be equipped with a sheild, spear or throwing spear.

Now this was just thrown together the night before and only one game has been played using these stats so they are not perfect. We discussed after the game that the D values may need to be adjusted. We did have a great time with a very close battle.

Sunday, January 7, 2007

After receiving some feedback on my recent painting projects (this feedback was not posted in the comments for some reason), I have gone back and made some minor changes to two of the Orcs. On Gorlika I changed the color of the jacket from brown to black. I was told that the brown looked like wood due to my poor highlighting. I wasn't really happy with how the jacket came out either. On the orc assassin I added an additional level of highlight to the skin. Here is a group picture of all three completed orcs.

I do think the black jacket looks much better. The highlights are more subdued - less contrast between the shades which gives a smoother look.

Compare this with the picture of the brown jacket below. The next step for these figures is to complete the bases.

Saturday, January 6, 2007

Thursday, January 4, 2007

I finished another of the marvelous Foundry orc figures today. This is a figure I have had for a couple of years (I think I got him at the flee market at Historicon 2004). It is really nice to paint a figure just for the sake of painting the figure. For the last few years I have been working on painting armies with specific gaming goals in mind. These Foundry orcs have no purpose other than they are cool.

There was a time a few years ago when I was a much better painter. The need to paint large numbers of figures has meant that I have adopted speed techniques. These work well for game pieces, they are not always the most artistic. With these orcs I am attempting to teach myself how to paint again.

I still have a way to go before I have my highlighting right but I am getting better, I think. I have a few more of these guys to practice on...

For the last few years I have been trying to find a solution to the problem of where to paint. I have used folding tables, carts and a workbench in the garage. All of these had there advantages and disadvantages, but none really worked out right. The answer is that I need a permanent place to do my painting and to store the painting supplies. It needs to be in the house (the summertime in Phoenix it too hot for painting in the garage) and it needs to look good even when covered with junk.

Step one in solving this problem came when my wife brought home a 1940ish oak teachers desk. This desk had been purchased by my sister a couple of months earlier from a local thrift store. She soon discovered that she had no room for it. This desk was a perfect starting point for the new painting desk. It is sturdy and has lots od storage. It has slide out wings for extra desktop space (not that it really needs it, the thing is 5 feet wide and 3 feet deep).

The final piece was my Christmas present from the Dad. He built an amazing hutch unit to sit on top of the desk. This unit is C shaped and has sturdy shelves. He also built several small shelf boxes that can be repositioned anywhere on the desk or shelves.

I need to add some better lighting but the design of the hutch will make this very easy. My Dad added access holes to the unit to allow power cords easy access to the back of the unit. I will be getting some clip-on style lamps that I can attach to the shelves. This will allow me to reposition the lights easily and save on desk space.

I have desk positioned in the family room at the back of the house. It is in a corner near the arcadia door, so it has very good natural light.

If you look closely you will see the scale model that my dad built of the hutch. It is sitting on top - see it?

Wednesday, January 3, 2007

This is the first of what I hope to be many posts. Here are a few pretty pictures...

This tough guy is from Wargames Foundry. I am not sure what he is called or even what line he is from. I call him an Orc Assassin, which seems to fit. He might be part of the Mercenary Ogres line but not sure. If anyone has some info please let me know. I have about 20 different figures from this line but I cannot find most of them on the Foundry site.

Then there are the games that have been retired. Not all of these are bad. In fact some are really great. The reasons for retirement are varied.

Wings of Glory

Kings of War

The Great WarEmpire of the DeadClash of EmpiresLord of the Rings:SBGWarhammer Ancient BattlesBattleground World War 2Arc of FireJohnny Reb IIICrossfireRules of EngagementRate of FireLegends of the High SeasNecromundaWaterlooLegends of the Old West